Cāi Cāi

Chapter 81 :Act X: Singing In the Rain (6)

When Tan Yiming settled the bill and hurried back to the dining table, he sensitively discovered that the atmosphere between Xiang Cai and Yao Yin was a little strange.

The two had still been warm and harmonious just then, but now the atmosphere felt like a pool of stagnant water. Even if cotton dropped on it, it would sink to the bottom.

If Tan Yiming looked closely, he would find that on Xiang Cai's face, 'guilty conscience' was clearly written, while Yao Yin's face was amused, as if he learned something interesting.

"It's getting late." Tan Yiming pulled Xiang Cai's arm, "We are going home."

He acted like a middle-aged man deliberately showing off his new love, with stress on the word 'home'.

'Home' was a very strange word. Whenever one performed the sound, their mouth would involuntarily pull apart on both sides, forming an expression similar to a smile.

[T/N: in chinese]

Tan Yiming liked this word. Before Xiang Cai moved in, it was just a house that required him to pay the mortgage every month. Now that Xiang Cai filled it with white roses, spider plants, ceramic mugs, and old dancing shoes, it became a 'home'.

Now, he and Xiang Cai were going home.

Tan Yiming deliberately held Xiang Cai's hand in front of Yao Yin. He already made mental preparations. If Xiang Cai slapped away his hand, then he would treat it as 'accidentally touching him'. He would absolutely not show the slightest reaction on his face.

But—Xiang Cai unexpectedly held the man's hand back.

He didn't just hold his hand, but interlocked their fingers. The boy inserted his fingertips into the space between Tan Yiming's fingers, and slowly but firmly incorporated the temperature of his palm into Tan Yiming's palm.

Tan Yiming's face was calm, but if one brought a heartbeat-powered engine to him now, the speed of his heart could definitely push human technology forward.

He even wondered if all this was his own illusion. He subconsciously tightened his fingers, squeezing Xiang Cai's hand a little and then squeezing again.

And Xiang Cai's response was to squeeze him back tightly with a heavier force.

Their palms connected and their pulses were in sync. Tan Yiming felt that his soul was fulfilled at this moment, he had never been as satisfied as he was now.

Tan Yiming didn't know why Xiang Cai had hesitated before, but accepted his favor so suddenly now; he also didn't know what Xiang Cai and Yao Yin had talked about in the few minutes he was gone. However, he didn't care about those things anymore, he just wanted to go home now—to take his Cai Cai home.

Tan Yiming didn't even remember how he said goodbye to Yao Yin.

He dazedly led Xiang Cai back to the parking lot, holding him tightly all along the way, as if he was grabbing a beautiful balloon that could fly into the sky at any time.

The snowfall grew heavier and heavier. The originally small snowflakes had turned into large tracts of snowflakes.

On the way home, many people had already, impatiently set off fireworks. Xiang Cai looked out of the car window and saw the purple, red, and golden fireworks rushing towards the sky, penetrating the snow curtain to illuminate the night sky and the way ahead.

And they drove towards the place the fireworks had risen from.

...

The living room was bright.

Tan Yiming was in such a hurry to leave the house that he had forgotten to turn off the light in the living room. The hot pot ingredients he had prepared in advance were placed on the dining table, and the vegetables were washed one by one and piled neatly on the plates. The mushroom soup base he had prepared before going out was still being stewed in the pot, which had switched to 'keep warm' mode. The whole room was filled with the mellow aroma of the soup.